That was an atrocious call. If it is gotten right, Beltre may not even bat in the ninth. The loss cannot be blamed on that of course. A key hit with 2 outs and the game would not have been that close. Damn.

When all is said and done, this may truly be a 'transition' year that we all look back on with fondness.

Until that day comes, it's been one of the more maddening seasons I can remember...

Utterly horrible call. Davis owes DeSalvo his first ML win.

It was a terrible call as Davis later admitted. Yet as bad as it was, that is not what cost the Yankees the win.

Tough loss. I did note that for once the comment section of a losing game was tolerable. The reason being that there was no Mel or Joe to blame for pulling DeSalvo, putting in Farnsworth and Mo, and the line up not hitting.

5 Good observation...unfortunately, that makes the loss all the more disturbing. I think we are now past the point of dismissing Mariano's early season slump. He is no longer getting beat by bloops or even opposite field home runs. Right handed batters are not hitting bombs off of him. Had he not given away all three games, the Yankees would be 17-13 and sitting pretty. If Mo doesn't straighten himself out, then the season is pretty much over.

Yesterday's loss was huge for so many reasons (failing to reach .500; pick up 1/2 game; keep the momentum and positive feelings going; etc.), but the possibility that Mo may finally be in decline is terrifying.

So are the Yankees in need of pitching or are they stocked with pitchers?

I am a bit concerned by Mo, but still think that it's due to the lack of regular work and that he will straighten himself out. He's still got the velocity, movement, etc.

The call was horrible. However, they should have scored a run when Minky was on on third with one out. Bad execution on small ball in the 8th inning also contributed to the loss.

Excellent article...
http://sport.monstersandcritics.com/mlb/article_1301346.php/Clemens_is_such_a_phony

Don't you wish Steiny still had that fire in him? He would rip that pu$$y Pavano a new one. Get a load of this crap:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2863340

I'm a bit concerned with Abreu. I don't have the numbers handy, but it seems that he's been awful when he comes up with a runner on 3rd and less than two outs. Nearly every time I've seen that situation he grounds out or Ks and fails to score the run.

Nertz. Perfect word to describe last night.

Me, I'm just glad i can look at the schedule and see:

Pettitte
Mussina
Wang

And Rasner and DeSalvo at least give them a chance to win.

A slow start to the season but better than 11-19. Things are looking up.

7 I think the Yankees are stocked with pitching. The problems so far has been all the injuries to the starting staff. This allowed the Yankees to showcase a lot of the youth in the Minor leagues but also put pressure on an unreliable bullpen. Mo's woes have added to the misperception that the Yankee's are weak in the pitching department. As williamny23 6 points out, had Mo not blown two saves and lost last night the Yankees would have a respectable record.
Looking ahead, the starters will be Wang, Mussina, Pettite, Clemens and a fifth starter. Do you see any other teams with that kind of depth? Maybe some of these young arms can do some time in the bullpen when the starting rotation gets well.

The situation with Mo is worrisome. I am now thinking to be a combination of decline and rust. Once the rust is off, he should be able to adjust and be effective though he will never be what he was in the past again.

10 I have tried to be supportive and understanding of Pavano's constant injuries, but it clear from his response to seeing another specialist that he really doesn't want to pitch for the Yankees. He seemed to be improving this season. I don't get what is wrong with that guy. How did he go from the guy who won the World Series to this guy with no competitive spirit?

Also, Abreu and Cano both need to be straightened out. I find Cano's determination to swing at everything to be beyond annoying. He is actually harming the Yankees with his constant hacking.

6, 8 I'm finally starting to become concerned with Mo now. I've been thinking all along that he's had slow starts before and he'll get it straightened out etc... But now I'm wondering if...oh, I can't even say it!

Bottom line is they can sign three Roger Clemens, and the Yanks aren't going to win jack if Mo isn't Mo.

I don't see what's wrong with a couple of benchings (Cano and Abreu) for two or three days or a series if necessary if it can get the player's mind off the game for a while and refocus. Not benching as like "Omigod, they BENCHED him", but a respite. Thompson's adequate in right field compared with Bobby, and Cairo can play second when he absolutely has to. Also with Mo, what exactly is rust? Not getting in games often enough? Pitch him in some non-save situations and keep his arm loose for a change. Bruney's got a live arm, start looking at him to see if he can close a few until Mo's "rust" is gone. Maybe the coaches are putting their fears in the wrong places with this team?

8 The most worrisome thing about Mo is he has never been hit so hard consistently. Whether it's a decline in stuff or poor location, Rivera could always say "here, hit it", and no one ever made solid contact. Now, it looks like enough his missing to the point that guys like Scutaro and Beltre can just wail away. Maybe Mariano is going to need to be a little less aggressive, but I wonder how that would impact his overall approach. Without Mariano being a constant, it really is a brave new world for the Yankees, so comparisons to the past are no longer meaningful.

15 Abreu is in a slump, so I'm not too worried about him. I do, however, think it's time to install him as the leadoff hitter and move Damon down in the lineup.

I am very worried about Cano. I know several have pointed out that he is a slow starter, but here is one stat that scares me: 2005 Ks - 68; 2006 Ks - 54; 2007Ks - 26. At that pace, Cano would strike out an alarming 140+. I've never seen him go through a stretch with so many swings and misses (mostly on bad pitches). Has the league made an adjustment? If so, can Robbie re-adjust himself. I am not panicking with him, but I am definitely concerned.

18 Could it be that Cano, hitting in front of Minky most of the time, isn't getting good pitches to hit...but he is swinging anyway? In other words, he is getting pitched around but still swinging and getting himself out?

I'm concerned about Mo, but not panicking. He did blow away the first two batters, and it was too bad he made a mistake with Beltre, but even if he's 'in decline' I am cautiously optimistic that he'll still be very good, if not his old spectactular self, this summer.
Abreu is definitely a concern. I'd expect him to be able to contribute even when he's not hitting particularly well, because of his great eye. But, nothing. Cano doesn't worry me. He's generally been weak in the Spring and then he heats up with the weather, and that's what I expect this year.

What worries me is Rasner and DeSalvo taking their second turn against the Mariners. Even a cruddy line-up like that should score some runs on their second look. We'd better hit in Seattle. And we'd better not make a habit of blowing close ones, or come June 1st Our Saviors will be too late.

When I get depressed I go look at Posada's stats for the year.

And why not swap Jorgie and Bobby in the line-up?

19 It could be...but I don't think you can gerrymander a lineup to mitigate Robbie's impatience. Besides, he hit at the bottom of the lineup last year, and for much of the season, the bottom third was pretty ugly.

10 The only problem I have with the logic of "Pavano being a bum" is his surgery would mean he torpedos his chance of a next big contract. He'd have to accept a cheap one year deal. Whereas, if he had pulled this stuff last year, he wouold have had the last year of the contract to prove himself for free agency.

13 And Mo's actually blown three games.

I disagree with all the folks saying the bad call didn't cost the Yankees the game. I believe the Yankees win probability would have skyrocketed, if the call had been made correctly.

Yes, they should have hit a mediocre pitcher better. Yes, they could have scored late. Yes, Mo threw a fat pitch to Beltre. But if the ump didn't blow that call, the Yankees most probably would have won last night.

It was an outrageously bad call, and I believe it cost the Yankees a win.

19 There's probably something to that.

Come on, comments here usually reflect more rational thought.

Rivera: I'm in wait and see mode. On Baseball Tonight last night (before I turned it off midway through Steve Phillips' insane rant against give Clemens special treatment--explaining why he's a tv analyst and not a GM anymore) they pointed out that Mo still has velocity and some movement, but his location is off. I've not seen every pitch he's thrown this year but I'd agree he's been getting too much of the plate. I'd also say that, to my eyes, he doesn't have quite as much late movement so far--his 2 seamer in particular seems very straight. I'll say this--if I had room on my fantasy team, I'd certainly be trying to buy low on him. I think the odds of him returning to 95% of form are much higher than him being done.

Abreu--as noted many times at BP, his power has fallen off the cliff (and banged its head a couple times on the way down). Until he shows at least a modicum of power, pitchers will keep challenging him, hurting his OBP (which is what kept him productive last year). Unlike Mo, I think there's a good chance this isn't a "slump" but rather the midst of a severe decline phase. Re (18) why would you move one of the (currently) worst hitters to leadoff? So he can accumulate the most ABs on your team? It's killing me right now, watching Abreu bat in front of ARod (or Jorge, Matsui, Giambi, and probably Cano, for that matter). When Bobby's getting on base 40% of the time, you can justify it, but when he's doing as poorly as he is it's just dumb.

Re:(17) If you can't see the difference between Cano and Cairo, or Mo and Bruney, I don't know what to tell you.

Re:(Panic) Don't (hat tip to D.A.). All we need to do is tread water until Hughes and Roger are in the rotation. You don't think Clemens, Hughes, Moose, Pettite, Wang will rip off some wins? I see some loooong win streaks this summer. The nice thing about all these rookies showing they can handle a few starts is they'd almost definitely be even better out of the pen later this year. Improving the rotation will also improve the bullpen. And then I'll plant doctored photos of Mientkwizcszxc with a burro, a trojan magnum, a Dick Cheney mask, and a member of the Torre family in Joe's office, and that will resolve any remaining problems with the offense.

24 Yes...it clearly cost them the game, but bad calls are part of outcomes. There is NOTHING you can do. What the Yankees did control were 11 ABs with runners in scoring position (three for Abreu).

7 I think we've seen that when our SP is healthy, it is a 'B' pitching staff. Add Clemens and Hughes and we have an 'A' staff.
I would also give the BP a solid 'B', when they are not overworked.

Remember that we made it to a WS primarily on the back of a blown call by an umpire (the Jeter/Meher HR).

There's always a number of fingers that can be pointed, but the middle finger here was:
1 for 11 in RISP opportunities.

After Mo gave up the HR, it should have been 5-3, not 2-3.

HOWEVER, we might have a real problem with Mo. If he's no longer Mo, it will cost us dearly, because he will be closing for us for quite a while. He would have to blow quite a few games before Joe started to use someone else.

If we can't count on Mo to Save 80% of the games he's in, we are all done.

26 I didn't notice much in your post that refutes some of the points raised, so starting your argument by dismissing opposing views as irrational isn't very compelling.

Is it me, or is EVERYONE in the media waaaaaaay too riled up over the 'special contract' than the actual players on the team - or the fans for that matter?

The guy had the same deal in Houston for 2 years, and anyone that signed him would have had to accommodate Roger in the same way for him to 'unretire' again.

Francessa yesterday could not be convinced otherwise that this was a disgusting charade on the part of the organization - all the way from the terms of the contract to the way Clemens himself announced it at the Stadium.

Meanwhile, every fan I talk to has no problem with it.

You can always tell when Mo isn't completely comfortable on the mound due to rust or whatever because he has an exaggerated foot bounce when he's coming to the set position-you'll see him bounce his left (front) foot a couple of times. I noticed it a few years back when he missed some time from his sore shoulder and was out for about a month and a half. It's also happened in past seasons when he doesn't get his usual spring training routine in (about 9 innings.) The foot bounce eventually becomes less pronounced as he gets regular work and his control gets better.

That being said, it does seem that the foot bounce is starting to last longer into each season...

30 I agree. They had to find a "new" angle and that's it. Meanwhile, it was cute when he was pitching in Houston.

Me = Not worried about Mo. Too good for too long.

26 Trust me, I know. But what difference does it make at this point? Leaving them where they are is not helping, and the people who make the decisions seem to be too afraid to do anything else and likely to happen (hopefully not) if the Yanks fall out of contention a few months from now. That's what a lot of people seem to be afraid of happening and it's only early May.

15 (I'm playing catch up here!). Simone, I'm with you! I adore Cano, but he looks completely lost at the plate lately. Some of the crap he was swinging at...good Lord!
Even more shocking - Minky is kind of turning a corner, I think (IMO!) HAHA!

I've mentioned that I love RSN's reaction to Clemens, right? A week ago, they're sitting pretty and confident. Now, it's back to the usual insecurity and horribly lame jokes that don't make any sense.

I love Roger Clemens, am glad he's back and look forward to a summer of him on the mound. Having said that, it took me all of one game to get over the after glow and back to the reality that this team needs to start winning at an accelerated pace.

35

Clemens is good, but he ain't no Aaron Small...

30 Pistol, am I wrong for thinking we give way too much credence to some media members who are unabashed, border-line fascist blowhards? I just don't see how what Francessa or Gammons and their ilk have an impact on in-game strategy, and I distrust their analysis because of their unrestrained bias. But that's me and I know I'm probably outnumbered in my opinion, but if I don't agree, why be outraged by it? I know most people don't listen to me, so I'm not beholden to ratings. I just don't understand the fascination with them.

38 I agree whole heartedly...thanks to the Internet and blogs like this, I no longer care what mass consumption outlets say or do. Let them great interest by stirring up casual fans...I much prefer to share opinions with people who have a more indepth, intelligent perspective.

When and if Mo starts getting regular save opps and continues to blow them then I will be worried. Until then I'll go on believing that more than likely it's rust.

The baseball season is sooooo long. It's not yet time to panic. That doesn't mean it's not shrewd to recognize the chinks in the armor and patch them up.

The last few years the Yanks seem to be more than just a traveling road show, but a circus. Clemens announcement was just the capper. Not that it bothered me. But, the Giambi steroid thing and 11-19 start. The old and frail pitching turnstile giving way to they young and not quite ready one. T-Long. The A-Rod drama. Is it just a zoo again or is this how Cashman runs things?

37 I'm mostly referring to the Roger and Andy are GAY LOLZ Don't fOrgeT Jeterrrr and Gay-Rod!!!!!! F the $pankeez!!

I've missed it.

38 Don't get me wrong, normally I'm listening to music on my way home, but I was curious to see what the media reaction was to the Clemens signing - I was amazed to discover everyone was losing their minds, when - for the most part- the fanbase was content with the signing.

I've just never seen such a contrast in opinion...

41

on that note... not sure if this has been posted.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1wy7h_red-sox-love

37 That was good.

41 If it helps you to feel better, check out the video of Manny rubbing the Tavarez' head (really!):

http://confessionalpoet.typepad.com/cursed_to_first/

18 The adjustment seems to be that Cano will swing at offspeed pitches down and in, no matter how low or how inside (e.g. one actually hit his back foot). I've seen him K on that pitch at least three or four times myself and pitchers seem to be going to it more. He's actually had some decent ABs in there, working some counts and taking a few walks. I think if he lays off that slop down and in, he'll be ok.

We should have won that series, but on the bright side, if we can weep the rangers and/or the M's coming up, we still go 10-2 or some such, which is what we should do. So, with our top thre going against the Rangers, its a possibility.

With all this talk about the Yanks using ten pitchers so far, and 6 of them being rookies, which is a record for this early, I realized last night just how much this team HAS changed, top to bottom. Even just last year it would have been maybe 1-2 rookies at the most and we would have dusted off another semi-retired pitcher or traded for Paul Byrd by now. Plus, Villone would be on the team without a doubt. Instead, not only have we used 6 rookies (5 not counting Igawa), but all save Igawa and Wright have done well (Karstens gets an incomplete). I remember a few years ago when every rookie we brought up would just totally hammereed and have that "oh dear God I'm gonna die" look on his face all the time.

So not only have the Yanks gotten some good starts out of their kids, and incrased their confidence that they can make the big club, but they have also upped their trade potential, which is also a very good thing.

Life could be worse...

And for that matter, most of our lower level prospects are doing quite well, but have you seen the Sox kids? Yeah, not so much...hehehe

Lost in all of this, is how much I liked what I saw from DeSalvo. He seems to have a bunch of pitches, and arm slots, as well as a lot of poise.

River Ave Blues compared him to Cone from a repetoire standpoint. I think if he can consistently throw strikes, he could be a very good MLB pitcher.

Thoughts?

46

yeah... top sox prospect ellsbury is only leading the minors in hitting and the two top pitching prospects bucholtz and bowden have eras under 2... bard's having a tough go, but he pitches in an extreme hitters park.

47 He has the potential. His change last night was just nasty, almost like a screwball. I loved seeing Ichiro spin himself around.

47 I agree. I was impressed by how much movement his stuff had. Then I remembered all my rails about stuff verus results. Still, the results looked good, apart from the three walks.

46 The Yankees supposedly asked about Byrd, but the Indians didn't want to trade him once Westbrook got hurt. So it's largely by luck that they didn't make that dumb move...

47 His changeup is really a beauty, and he's surprisingly aggressive with it (if that makes sense). I'll be curious to see what happens once batters have had a good look at it.

I also thought Leiter did an excellent job of dissecting and explaining DeSalvo's pitching. I think Kay is a lousy play-by-play guy, but he does a good job of bringing out the other commentators - he can ask a good question and then stay out of the way while they answer.

I have reservations about DeSalvo: didn't strike anyone out, lots of fly balls. We should have a much better sense of how good he is after his next start.

48 Ellsbury is leading which league in hitting? I thought he played for Portland. But yeah, he's obviously a very good player and ought to save Theo a bunch of money -- I was hoping the Sox would go shopping for a very overpriced aging OF in January.

52

Ellsbury promoted to pawtucket..heres the BA link..
http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2007/05/ellsbury_to_paw.html

Wait, why are we knocking Ellisbury? He's a good prospect, and doing well. Let's not stoop too low here...

Anyway, I guess if you win the game with a homer off Mo the team leaves you behind. From a Seattle paper:

"The Mariners returned from Yankee Stadium to their midtown Manhattan hotel by bus, and third baseman Adrian Beltre fell asleep. When the bus arrived, he was still snoozing, and his teammates decided to disembark quietly and let the bus depart with him still aboard. The driver, who had no idea there was still a passenger, was taking the bus back to its garage in Queens. Fortunately for Beltre, the bus hadn't made it farther than about a block. He got off and walked to the hotel, fuming."

I saw a PawSox game last week (free tix) and they have a guy named Brandon Moss who should be playing instead of Hinske. .305/.416/.581. He's 23, bats lefty and let the org. in hits last year.

40 Agreed. I was thinking the same thing earlier--"circus."

Something about Clemens' return seems to me to be making a mockery of the game.

It's just over the top somehow.

I know I'm in the minority.

I also like a good bunt, so clearly I'm a throwback, but I'm comfortable with that.

56 I'm with you, wfb....yeah, we signed a guy who will improve our staff, but I hate the whole prima donna treatment for somebody who is probably going to end up giving us 20ish starts at a AL average #2 starter level.